Insurgents Offer Cease-Fire

From the AP:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Eleven Sunni insurgent groups have offered an immediate halt to all attacks -- including those on American troops -- if the United States agrees to withdraw foreign forces from Iraq in two years, insurgent and government officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The groups who've made contact have largely shunned attacks on Iraqi civilians, focusing instead on the U.S.-led coalition forces. Their offer coincides with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's decision to reach out to the Sunni insurgency with a reconciliation plan that includes an amnesty for fighters.

In Washington, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that
President Bush's "view has been and remains that a timetable is not something that is useful. It is a signal to the enemies that all you have to do is just wait and it's yours.

n addition to the withdrawal timetable, the Iraqi insurgents have demanded:

* An end to U.S. and Iraqi military operations against insurgent forces.

* Compensation for Iraqis killed by U.S. and government forces and reimbursement for property damage.

* An end to the ban on army officers from Saddam's regime in the Iraqi military.

* An end to the government ban on former members of the Baath Party -- which ruled the country under Saddam.

* The release of insurgent detainees.

I'm sorry to disagree oh yet again with these morons, but I don't think this should be discarded out of hand.  I don't agree with amnesty, but there are conditions included in this offer that could allow US and Iraqi governments to save face.  Isn't the bottom line to get our troops out of there?  

Oh wait, maybe not, as the same report states:  "Bush has said U.S. troops will remain in Iraq for years to guarantee the success of the new Iraqi government."  Permanent bases anyone?